Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2012: As Usual, the Cartoons Are Best

National Film Board of Canada

Wild Life, directed by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby.

Location Info

Map

Varsity

4329 University Way N.E.
Seattle, WA 98105

Category: Movie Theaters

Region: University District

Photos

0 user reviews	Write A Review
Save to foursquare	0

Details

Opens Fri., Feb. 10 at Varsity. Not rated. 80 minutes (animation) and 100 minutes (live-action).

Related Content

• The Weekly Wire: This Week's Recommended Events
  February 15, 2012
• Ear Supply: Taken to Extremes
  April 4, 2012
• Jonathan Franzen Says Amazon's Kindle Is Ruining the World
  January 30, 2012
• CD Review: Rick Ross's Teflon Don Proves Reputation Isn't Everything
  July 20, 2010
• How to Make a Book With Steidl: A Persnickety German Publisher
  March 7, 2012

More About

• Morris Lessmore
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Books and Literature

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

This year's shorts offer a little something for every viewing temperament, though some categories require sitting through a lot of mediocre to get to the good. The live-action field is only so-so, though the droll comedy Tuba Atlantic, about a machine-gun-toting, seagull-killing curmudgeon with six days to live, addresses mortality and reconciliation in unexpected ways. For sheer inventiveness, nothing holds a candle to the animated nominees. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore documents the adventures of an avid reader who is blown, Wizard of Oz–like, into a magical world where books are alive. And Wild Life is a moving, painterly look at an Englishman who decides to reinvent himself in the rugged Canadian frontier in the early 20th century. What starts as a fish-out-of-water comedy soon becomes something richer and sadder—a reminder that sometimes when people head out to find themselves, the only thing they discover is oblivion.